FM Zarif rules out possibility of Rouhani-Trump meeting

“I said in Biarritz a meeting between Iranian President and Trump cannot be possible,” he told IRNA on Tuesday when asked about French President’s remarks on a probable meeting between Iranian and American leaders.

Zarif went on to say that even if Washington returns to the JCPOA and implements the agreement, no bilateral talks with US will be held.

“What the French and Americans have discussed on the issue is their own business but on my visit to Biarritz, I said that no meeting with American officials will be held,” Zarif highlighted.

The United States has violated an agreement which was the result of lengthy negotiations and what is required now is implementing the agreement, said the top diplomat, adding, “I’m not yet seeing any significant sign from the US administration in this regard.”

Foreign Minister Zarif visited Biarritz on Sunday at the official invitation of his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, to continue consultations on the recent initiatives proposed by Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron. The visit came concurrently with a meeting of seven economic powers of the world, known as G7, in the French city.

During the trip, Zarif met with the French president after which he said he had “constructive” negotiations with Macron on ways to salvage an international nuclear deal signed between Iran and the then P5+1 countries back in 2015. “France has offered proposals to Iran about ways to implement the JCPOA (the nuclear accord, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action) and steps that the sides are required to take [to save the deal],” Zarif said.

Meanwhile, President Macron hoped on Monday that presidents of Iran and US would meet in the coming weeks.

President Rouhani said on Tuesday that “If you [US] removed all sanctions, only then the situation would change,” adding “we are not looking for just taking a picture with somebody.”